Striving to Build Relationships in the Company and the Community

The Louisville Water Service Board is on a Mission

When Louisville Water created its first Service Board in June 2022, it was a little bit of a trial run. There were expectations with a learning curve, and board members immediately hit the ground running.

“You have these dreams or these hopes that you can make a difference in the organization and you don’t really know if you’re gonna get there and then when people come and meet you halfway and really excel, it’s wonderful,” said Michael Tigue, General Counsel for Louisville Water.

Tigue’s vision for a service board had been brewing for a couple years. He pitched his idea to executive leaders in the company and his idea finally started to take shape.

In February 2023, the Service Board returned to Dant Crossing for a planning retreat. With eight months and several events and fundraisers under their belt, the group cemented their vision: to build trust and value with customers and stakeholders while creating a place where employees desire to work and develop fulfilling careers. The vision set the tone for the strategic plan they developed, outlining goals and the steps to achieve them.

The board also began mapping out an 18-month calendar filled with ideas for fundraisers, events to build morale with employees across the company, and identifying local charities and causes they’d like to support.

In March, they were ready to take their strategic plan to Louisville Water President & CEO Spencer Bruce.

Bruce said, “The Service Board is changing how the Company looks at our philanthropic opportunities. I’ve always been very proud of our employees for their willingness to give back to the community by supporting our four local charities. However, the strategic plan that the employee-led Service Board developed will not only work to support these charities, but also provide opportunities for employees to support other worthy causes. In addition, employees across the company are having a chance to meet each other and develop lasting relationships that otherwise may not happen but for the opportunities presented by the Board. I appreciate all that they are doing for this community and Louisville Water.”

Supervisor of Metering Maintenance, Maleka Planchat, agrees.

“It’s a good way to have more buy-in in my job. I’m really proud that one of the things we’ve done through our volunteer work is we’ve gotten employees involved that had pretty much given up and lost inspiration to do anything extra. They thanked me later for getting them to participate, so that felt really good.”

The Service Board is proud of what it’s accomplished TOGETHER!